In the course of this compact and insightful work, Dr. Ronald Pies, tells us a little about what happiness is, and a lot about how to achieve it. The first chapter begins with a reminder from the great Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, that "things do not touch the soul." This, explains Pies, "is the keystone in the arch of Stoic philosophy." In a sense, then, the rest of the book is an extended meditation on how we might avoid letting things touch our souls too much. But, it is much more than simply a meditation. From here, Pies goes on to offer readers a well-researched, often witty explanation of how Stoic philosophy—as it resonates not only with Christian and Judaic, but also with Buddhist and Hindu worldviews—can guide and improve their lives. In the process, he draws on his own considerable clinical experience to offer composite case vignettes, both positive and negative, that illustrate the principles he is discussing.
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The book Everything Has Two Handles by Ronald Pies presents itself as an accessible introduction into Stoicism, for the 'intelligent layperson that wants to live well,' and Pies skillfully achieves this end....It is a book that can easily be reread or referenced for continued application and guidance. The reader is not left overwhelmed but is offered a clear understanding. (Philosophical Practice )
In this breathtaking tour of ancient wisdom, Ron Pies, M.D., makes the philosophy of the Stoics come alive for the modern reader. Touching on our most urgent contemporary problems—the meaning of happiness, the role of pleasure, the importance of wisdom, friendship, balance, harmony, and anger—the Stoics provide a surprisingly fresh and instructive set of principles about how to live. With numerous examples from the world's philosophical and religious traditions, as well as vignettes about people struggling to understand their lives in the 21st century, Pies has created a guide filled with warmth, clear thinking, strong values, and the deep pleasure that comes from our recognition of the enduring truths. (Richard M. Berlin, M.D. )
In this breathtaking tour of ancient wisdom, Ron Pies, M.D., makes the philosophy of the Stoics come alive for the modern reader. Touching on our most urgent contemporary problems—the meaning of happiness, the role of pleasure, the importance of wisdom, friendship, balance, harmony, and anger—the Stoics provide a surprisingly fresh and instructive set of principles about how to live. With numerous examples from the world's philosophical and religious traditions, as well as vignettes about people struggling to understand their lives in the 21st century, Pies has created a guide filled with warmth, clear thinking, strong values, and the deep pleasure that comes from our recognition of the enduring truths. (Richard M. Berlin, M.D. )
About the Author
Ronald Pies, M.D. is Professor of Psychiatry and Lecturer on Bioethics and Humanities at S.U.N.Y. Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, N.Y.; and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the Psychiatric Times. Dr. Pies is the author of several psychiatric textbooks, and a guide to psychotherapy for the general public (A Consumer's Guide to Choosing the Right Psychotherapist, Jason Aronson, 1997). Dr. Pies is also a published poet (Creeping Thyme, Brandylane) and the author of a collection of short stories (Zimmerman's Tefillin, PublishAmerica). He lives with his wife, Nancy Butters MSW, near Boston.
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More About the Author
Ronald Pies MD is a physician, poet, and writer living in the Boston area. He has academic appointments at Tufts University and Upstate Medical University, and is the author of several psychiatric textbooks. Dr. Pies is also the author of "Creeping Thyme" (a collection of poems); "Zimmerman's Tefillin" (a short story collection) and "Everything Has Two Handles: The Stoic's Guide to the Art of Living." Dr. Pies's novella, "Ben Maimon's Mind", is available on Amazon.com as a Kindle book. His most recent books include "Becoming a Mensch: Timeless Talmudic Ethics for Everyone" (Hamilton Books); "The Judaic Foundations of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy" (iUniverse); and "Ziprin's Ghost" (short story collection available only at Harvard Book Store in-house publishing).
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Listen to These Voices!,
This review is from: Everything Has Two Handles: The Stoic's Guide to the Art of Living (Paperback)
Dr. Pies has accomplished something quite wonderful in "Everything Has Two Handles": he has knitted together ancient wisdom drawn from many traditions - Western and Eastern - and created a text that speaks familiarly and comfortingly to our times. The loom on which he weaves his fabric has two main supports: the teachings of the ancient Stoics and the author's own voice, which is at once calm, reassuring, sensible and also funny. Pies creates in this book a "meeting place" of voices, a text that illustrates the very virtues it enjoins us to practice (and he does mean practice, as in the old joke: "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?"). Here voices of the classical Stoics (prominently Marcus Aurelius and Seneca) mix happily with those of our American contemporaries (people dealing with the trials of making a living, enduring sickness and coping with the debility and death of loved ones); the sounds of Buddhist sages, Talmudic scholars and mediaeval Christians blend to form a chorus. And indeed it is a chorus - not a hodge-podge or a replay of the lethal competition of rival truth-claims that has made a charnel house of history. And how is this possible? Because Pies - with a light and humorous touch - shows us how alike these voices really are, how they do indeed speak shared truths in their different idioms. Both the author's voice and the teachings of the Stoics urge on us a kind of modesty about ourselves, a self-discipline that insists that we have an ethical obligation to try to do our best yet also acknowledges that we will learn largely from our failures. Pies has given us a book that is in the best sense "counter-cultural"; his work goes thoroughly against the grain of the mass culture of our times, which seeks happiness in "getting and spending" and which treats any notion of limits as a kind of "unspeakable" heresy (so much so that - as Pies points out - we can barely force ourselves to say of someone that he or she has "died," preferring euphemisms to simple truth). Yet Pies has that rarest of touches - the ability to help us see the foolishness of our ways without alienating us; listening to his reassuring voice - and to the magnificent chorus he has recruited - we are happy to learn.
I strongly recommend this book as a practical guide to the perplexities of life (and, yes, Maimonides is to be found in these pages as well), as an antidote to "what ails us" in the modern world, and as a thoroughly enjoyable read!
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent reading,
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This review is from: Everything Has Two Handles: The Stoic's Guide to the Art of Living (Paperback)
Everything Has Two Handles could become an obligatory reading for everybody 15 year-old and older. It has a magical communality and you could easily find yourself in some of the stories. I felt that it made me think and reflect while feeling that something was challenging me. I will read it again and again to learn more from this superb book.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A life changer,
By katgirl "katgirl" (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Everything Has Two Handles: The Stoic's Guide to the Art of Living (Paperback)
This book is short and very easy to read- you don't need any formal philosophy education to understand or benefit from it. I found the book to be extremely helpful-- a real life changer. I have applied much of what i learned and found it to lower my daily stress level. I highly recommend it!
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